Moves by Mr Chavez to boost his armed forces have worried the US

[Red Army]

Russia is holding talks with Venezuela to license the manufacture of Kalashnikov rifles there, Russia's state arms exporter has confirmed

On Tuesday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Russia planned to build two munitions plants in the country. Moscow has already signed a deal to supply Venezuela with 100,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles. The move is likely to worry the US, which regards Mr Chavez as a destabilising influence in the region.In May, the US State Department banned arms sales to Venezuela because of concern over its contacts with Iran and Cuba and what it called Venezuela's lack of support for counter-terrorism efforts.

Defend every street

Mr Chavez made his announcement during a visit to Ecuador to sign a series of energy deals.
"The Russians are going to install a Kalashnikov rifle plant and a munitions factory," he said. "So we can defend every street, every hill, every corner."
Arms exporter Rosoboronexport confirmed that talks were taking place, but did not give any details of the timescale or proposed production capacity of the plant, the Associated Press news agency reported.
Mr Chavez also told reporters that 30,000 of the promised Kalashnikov assault rifles were due to arrive in June, a fact later confirmed by the Russian manufacturer.
Correspondents say that the US is concerned by Venezuela's moves to build up military hardware.
In April, Venezuela took delivery of three Russian-built military helicopters - the first of a total of 15 it has so far ordered from Moscow.
They would help to protect Venezuela if the US ever mounted an invasion, Mr Chavez said at the time. The Venezuelan government has repeatedly accused Washington of trying to destabilise Mr Chavez - an allegation rejected by US officials.




FYI, variant yang diimport Venezuela adalah AK-74 dan AK-103. :)

[Red Army]

More about Hugo Chavez and his leftist reddish Venezuela. Alo, Presidente~! :D

CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuela is buying helicopters, boats and military transport planes in defense deals worth about $2.7 billion, modernizing its military as tensions grow between leftist President Hugo Chavez and the United States.
Flush with oil profits but blocked from buying U.S. arms, Chavez is increasingly looking to countries like Russia and Spain as suppliers.
A cargo ship carrying 30,000 Russian-made Kalashnikov assault rifles is headed to Venezuela with the first shipment of an order totaling 100,000 guns to arrive by year's end. The military is looking to buy more submarines, and Chavez is planning an even bigger deal for Russian fighter jets.
"The United States is failing in its attempt to blockade us, to disarm us," Chavez said after announcing the first shipment of Kalashnikovs.
Washington has pointed to the mounting defense deals with concern and urged Russia and Spain not to do business with Venezuela. Both countries have shrugged off the warnings.
Venezuela's defense budget is up 31 percent this year, to $2 billion, and that doesn't include roughly $2.2 billion it plans to spend for 10 transport planes and eight patrol boats on what will be Spain's largest-ever defense deal.
Chavez says the spending is necessary to keep the military up to date and to obtain "minimal arms for the defense of our seas, land and airspace."
Defense economist Mark Stoker says the deals so far don't appear to be a significant buildup; Venezuela is not spending as much as Brazil and Colombia.
"My interpretation is that Venezuela had a certain amount of aging military equipment and needed to replace some of that" using its windfall oil profits, said Stoker of the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Chavez also is helping Bolivian President Evo Morales and has warned of a U.S. plot to oust Morales — a claim denied by Washington.
Venezuela will send Bolivia troops and two Superpuma helicopters, Defense Minister Orlando Maniglia said Monday. He said the Venezuelan troops would do roadwork and engineering tasks, though he didn't say how many would go or give other details.
Venezuela, meanwhile, is spending $54 million for Kalashnikov AK 103 assault rifles to replace Belgian FALs, which will be turned over to a growing army reserve Chavez says would help battle U.S. troops in the event of an invasion.
U.S. officials have ridiculed Chavez's frequent warnings of a possible invasion, but say they worry some of the assault rifles could end up in the hands of leftist Colombian rebels.
The Bush administration, citing Chavez's close ties to Iran and Cuba and accusing Venezuela of being uncooperative in counterterror efforts, announced this month that it will block new arms sales to the country.
The U.S. had been refusing to sell Venezuela upgrades for its U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, and the latest move could make it harder for Venezuela to maintain other U.S.-made planes. Chavez maintains he no longer needs — or wants — American weaponry.
Chavez is looking to buy Russian Sukhoi Su-30 and Su-35 fighter jets to replace the F-16s and says he plans to discuss the deal in an upcoming trip to Moscow. Venezuela also is buying 15 Russian helicopters for $200 million, and officials say they hope to buy 18 more.
The U.S. has tried to kill Venezuela's deal for patrol boats and transport planes by blocking Spain from including U.S.-manufactured parts. But Spain says the deal is moving ahead with parts made elsewhere. And Venezuela has tacked on a $263 million deal for 48 speedboats from the Spanish company Rodman Polyships.

Chavez began upgrading Venezuela's arsenal in 2004, focusing on older equipment that by some accounts was deteriorating for lack of maintenance.
The United States supplied most of Venezuela's defense needs before a failed 2002 coup, when Washington recognized civilian leaders who briefly took Chavez's place. Chavez was restored to power by military loyalists and street protests two days later, and accused the U.S. of involvement in the coup. Washington denied it.
Some critics complain the defense money could be better spent on fighting crime.
"Where are the government's priorities?" presidential candidate Julio Borges asked. "What the government invests in the military is much larger than what it invests in security in the entire country."
But Chavez adviser Gen. Alberto Muller says the country spent far more in the 1980s on warplanes, frigates and tanks — all from the United States.
Venezuela's spending is less than neighboring Colombia, which spent $6.3 billion on defense last year. The United States will spend roughly $500 billion this year, including the war costs for Iraq and Afghanistan.

[dragunova]

hahaha, Chavez emang benci bgt ya ama Amerika. ada dendam apa si dia ama Bush, di setiap berita yg gw baca dia selalu menghina2 Bush. berani banget, salut ::jempol::

wah Indonesia juga dong, impor AK-74 buat TNI gitu..

[Speirs]

biasalah. future dictator macam chavez mulai pake cara klasik ; semua gerakan oposisi mulai dituduh usaha amrik buat goyang kedudukannya.
soon chavez bakal ngelarang semua bentuk oposisi dan malah bisa jadi ngatur hasil pemilu berikutnya.
tipikal calon diktator dah ketauan sih :P
kita liat gimana nasibnya nanti, apa bakal berakhir ala noriega, saddam atawa marcos :P

[Pietroff]

udah klop deh trio devil di Amerika Tengah-Selatan yg benci AS..................heheheheehe

[skinner04]

trio??? kurang Bung.... selain Castro, Chavez & Morales sebenernya masih ada Kirchner & Lula yang masih sepaham sama mereka.....

Diktator??? hahaha..... kecuali Castro, mereka kepilih dengan cara yang sangat DEMOKRATIS bahkan gw yakin USA aja electionnya kalah demokratis daripada mereka..... jadi mereka dipilih karena emang itu yang diinginkan rakyat.......

well my Latin bros.... good luck..... hope U get the best result.....

[Speirs]

[QUOTE=skinner04]
Diktator??? hahaha..... kecuali Castro, mereka kepilih dengan cara yang sangat DEMOKRATIS bahkan gw yakin USA aja electionnya kalah demokratis daripada mereka..... jadi mereka dipilih karena emang itu yang diinginkan rakyat.......QUOTE]
ane cuma ngomongin chavez doang :P
ane kagak bilang chaves dipilih kagak demokratis :P
klo ente bisa baca postingan ane, disitu ane bilang chavez itu calon diktator bukan ngemengin pegimana dia kepilih.
kita liat aja deh, pemimpin yg ngejual kharisma trus mulai ngerubah kebijakan luar negeri secara drastis macam chavez ini mulai nuduh2 semua oposisinya itu dukungan as yg mo jatuhin dia.
bentar lagi chavez ngelarang oposisi dan bisa2 dia manipulasi atawa ngebatalin pemilu kl dia liat bahayain posisinya :P
semoga aja tulisan ane ini salah :P

[skinner04]

buat ngukur kayak gitu kan perlu public opinion sebagai parameternya..... kita liat aja public opinion di Venezuela dalam beberapa waktu ini.....

[Hiram]

Khusus untuk kekuatan udara, Venezuelan Air Force ( FAV ) berencana membeli Y-8/An-12 dan Y-7/An-26 dari Cina include versi patroli maritime karena deal dgn CASA Spanyol utk membeli C-295 & CN-235 diblok oleh US.
Untuk pesawat tempur rencananya akan didatangkan Mig-29 utk menggantikan Mirage yg sudah tua dan F-16 yg diembargo suku cadangnya oleh US.
Malahan ada rencana utk membeli Su-30 atau J-10 dari Cina.
Untuk helikopter, Venezuela sudah menerima 3 dari 11 Mil Mi-17V - 5 yg dipesan sejakMaret 2005.
Sesuai dgn kontrak pembelian seharga USD 120 juta pada Maret 2005, Rusia sedang menyiapkan penyerahan 6 Mi-17V-5, 3 Mi-35 dan 1 Mi-26T kepada Venezuela.
Kontrak kedua yg di-sign pada Juni 2005 bernilai USD 81 juta adalah untuk tambahan 5 Mi-17V-5.

Pada Februari 2005, Venezuela juga menandatangani kontrak dgn Brazil utk pengadaan pesawat ground strike ringan EMB-314 Super Tucanos.

Sumber : Jane's Defence Weekly - 14 Maret 2006

Mi-17 V-5
http://www.morm.gov.mk/Publikacii/odbrana98_files/odb98-36.gif

C-295
http://www.c295-tour.com/images/alaska_ops1.jpg

Y-8/An-12
http://www.sinodefence.com/airforce/specialaircraft/y8mpa1l.jpg

CAC J-10
http://aircraftstories.free.fr/mono/j10/6.jpg

EMB-314 Super Tucanos Light Strike Aircraft
http://www.aer.mil.br/imprensa/enotimp/2005/imagens/301/301-4.jpg

[rooivalk]

Venezuela ngabisin duit banyak untuk belanja militer gitu, emang dia udah kaya apa?
jangan sampe terjadi di indonesia, masih banyak yang kelaparan oi...

[Speirs]

wadoh man, venezuela itu negara penghasil minyak terbesar diluar arab tuh :P
duitnya seabrek man [rambo]

[rooivalk]

tp setau gw dia cuma negara berkembang, gak termasuk negara maju. cmiiw

[Pietroff]

aYO Chaves....ayo chaves, ada yang ngeliat berita di TV tentang parade AD-nya Chaves? Liat dia berdiri disitu jadi inget ama si Benito Mussolini......kekekeke

[The_omicron]

IMO
Selama pembangunan terus berjalan dan rakyat makmur, diktatorisme boleh2 saja..
rakyat senang lawan politik tidak senang.. biasa deh sirik..

[rooivalk]

- power tends to corrupt -

[Pompey]

okeh jangan tunggu lebih lama.. bikin aja secret conference dari kubu latin america sma kubu timtengnya ahmadinejad trus.. dari asia ada china ama korut hehehe.. ayo dong perang dunia III kapan lagi neeeh tar gw udah keburu tua.. pengen wamil nih ::hhh::

[Mobrig]

walah walah.. eh di venezuela ama kuba ada boikot produk amerika ga yaaa?::hihi::

[Zhuge Liang]

Khusus untuk kekuatan udara, Venezuelan Air Force ( FAV ) berencana membeli Y-8/An-12 dan Y-7/An-26 dari Cina include versi patroli maritime karena deal dgn CASA Spanyol utk membeli C-295 & CN-235 diblok oleh US.
Untuk pesawat tempur rencananya akan didatangkan Mig-29 utk menggantikan Mirage yg sudah tua dan F-16 yg diembargo suku cadangnya oleh US.
Malahan ada rencana utk membeli Su-30 atau J-10 dari Cina.



Wah...senjata China rupanya sudah laku toh. Lumayan juga buat ditumpukin ke cadangan devisa RRC yang udah menggunung kayak gudang uang Paman Gober. :D

[poni_lempar]

Hail 2 Mr. Chavez, salut buat keberaniannya bwat nentang kedigdayaan US, cma gw ga yakin klo babi2 korup macam mereka bisa nyaingin Amrik....
masih terlalu dini bro...
bwat Castro yang sedang menyiapkan 'putra mahkotanya' karena berlomba dengan umur, dulu pas dibantu Sovyet n ampir perang nuklir ma Amrik (pas jaman JFK) ja ga mampu, koq malah bikin koalisi ma anak bau kencur...???inget ma umur om....